Basket



@1T-WOODEN Aug. 25, 1925v BASKET vFiled sept,

5511"?, WTOEN REGEEWALLEEE,

Patented Aug. 25, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES R. SARGENT, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

BASKET.

Application filed September 11, 1922. Serial No. 587,489.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known, that I, CHARLES R. Sencnnr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Baskets, of which the following is a specification..

My invention relates to improvements in clothes baskets, and more particularly in clothes baskets having readily adjustable legs thereon, and its objects are: first, to provide an improved means for adjusting the legs and for locking them in extended position; seco-nd, to provide a means whereby the actuating slides and the locking slides may be worked independently of each other; third, to provide a means whereby the actuating slide and the locking slide may be readily adjusted to different heights of baskets, and, fourth, to provide a means whereby the danger of the two pieces of either the actuating slides, or the locking slide slipping upon each other, will be obviated.

I attain. these objects by the mechanism and construction of parts shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a basket with my devices in place. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the saine on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 showing the locking device and its several parts. Fig. 3 isa front elevation of the locking slide and catch detached from the basket. Figs. 4 and 5 are an edge elevation, and a front elevation of the actuating slide and its several connections. Fig. 6 indicates short pieces of the lower basket rail, and of the leg supporting rail with the several plates mounted thereon. Fig. 7 is an edge view of a slide showing the edges of one of the lengths odset at right angles to form bearings at the edges of the other length thereof. Fig. 8 is a front elevation; Fig. 9 is an edge elevation of the upper end of a slide showing a modified form of adjusting elements, and Fig. 10 is a fractional side elevation of the basket indicating the manner of operating the slides.

Similar reference characters indicate simi lar parts throughout the several views.

In the accompanying drawing 1 represents the body of a basket. 2 is the perma.- l nent rail at the bottom of the basket 3 is the leg or standard supporting cleat which is hinged upon the cleat 2, 4 indicates the legs,

and 15 represents the spring that draws the legs into folded position upon the bottom of the basket.

My presentinvention bears, entirely, upon the construction and operation of the slides 5 and 6. I-Ieretofore baskets of this general class have been so constructed that the legs 4 were extended, and locked in extended position by a single slide, as the slide 5, with no means provided for adjusting the length of this slide to the height of different baskets, the slide being made in one piece, lengthwise, and non-adjustable, so that a different slide had to be made for each height of basket. To overcome this handicap I have divided the slides at or near their longitudinal centers and serrated the surfaces, las at and b', so that when the bolts e are properly screwed in place it will be impossible for the two parts of the slide to slide upon each other, no matter what strain may be exercised upon the strap in the ordinary usage for extending the legs of the basket. In this construction I provide some means of holding the upper ends of the slides in place upon the basket and of allowing them to be moved longitudinally to a sufficient extent to properly operate the legs, as by the use of a slot, as c, and a screw, as c, or by any other available means, of which many are applicable.

I sometimes, also, provide for an auxiliary adjustment of these slides by dividing them, as at c', and pivoting them together. In this case I Serrat@y the surface of the plate 16 and place a serrated washer y' thereon, to be held firmly in desired position by means of a bolt, as ft, or other available device, the plate 16 being slotted, as at g, for longitudinal adjustment and properly serrated, as at 7c, for rm contact with the washer 7' when the bolt z, is properly adjusted. I sometimes supplement the hereinbefore described means of adjusting the length of the slide 5 by enlarging the slot c, as at c in Fig. 8, and passing a catch, as indicated at 13, through this slot and actuating it by means of a screw 12, anchored at 14, as indicated in Figs. 8 and 9, the catch being designed to lock upon the top of the rim 1 of the basket 3, as indica-ted in Fig. 9.

In the construction of the locking device I make use of a slide 6, similar to the slide 5, except that the lower end of this slide is pivotally connected with the latch 10, as

at 7', and the latch 10 is pivotally mounted on the plate l2', as at g, and passes through the slot n therein. The inner end of this latch is held in normal position by a spring, as indicated at 11, the outer end being provided with a catch m that passes through the slot n in the plate 13 and engages the wall /L at the end of said slot a. In Fig. 2 I have shown deeply formed serrations b in the slide 6 and the end of the part 8 of said slide bent at right angles, as at o, to engage said serrations, but the finer serra- .tions b, shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 7 will answer the purpose equally as well, the two forms heilig shown simply to indicate that I am not confined to either form or to any special form of connection at these points. With this locking device the spring 11 will hold the latch 10 in position so that when the legs 4 are extended into the position shown in Fig. 2 the catch m will be forced to engage the bearing L and holds the legs, locked in this position, and when the slide 6 is drawn upwardly the catch will become disengaged and, the cleat 2 being pivotally connected with cleat 3, as at r on Figs. 2 and 10, the spring 15 will draw the legs into folded position upon the bottom of the basket as shown in Fig. 10.

It is to be understood, of course,that both the plates 7 and 8 are slotted, as at cl, for the longitudinal adjustment of these slides. 9, in Fig. 1, respresents the connection of the actuating' strap 5 with the cleat 3.

I find it advisable to fold the edges of the end 7, or 8, over the edges of the parts 5 or 6, as at p, to insure edgewise rigidity of the slides; see Figs. 3 and 7.

It will be readily understood that when the slide 6 stands in the position indicated by its solid lines in Fig. 10, the legs 4 are drawn up parallel with the bottom of the basket by the spring 15, and when this slide is drawn upwardly into the position indicated by its dotted lines in Fig. 10 the legs 4: are drawn downwardly into the position indicated by their dotted lines in Fig. 10, and by their solid lines in Figs. 1 and 2, and are locked in place by the catch 13 as hereinbefore described.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new in the art, is:

1. In combination with a basket having foldable legs thereunder; actuating slides connected with the basket and with the legs, said slides divided at certain points and serrated and slotted, and abolt passed through the slots and arranged to provide longitudinal adjustment of the slides.

2. In combination with a basket having foldable legs thereunder; longitudinally adjustable actuating slides mounted upon the ends of the basket, and spring actuated latches connected with the slides and arranged to lock the legs in extensible position on the basket.

3. In combinationl with a basket having foldable legs thereunder, cleats permanently connected with the bottom of the basket, cleats pivotally connected with said permanent cleats for supporting the legs, springs connected with the bottom oi' the basket and with the pivoted cleats, a plate permanently connected with each of the permanent cleats, a latch pivotally mounted upon each of said plates, a spring mounted in position to actuate each of said latches, a longitudinally eXtensible and contractable slide pivotally connected with each latch, a plate permanently secured to the pivoted cleats and having a slot therethrough, for the passage of the end of the latch, all so arranged that when the legs are extended the latch will engage the plate` on the piv oted cleat below the basket and lock the legs in extended position for supporting the basket and when the latches are disenageged from said plates the legs will be folded parallel with the bottom of the basket by said springs.

4. In combination with the elements covered in claim 3, the actuating slides having slots therethrough, bolts longitudinally mounted at the upper end of said slides, latches mounted upon said bolts and passing through said slots for longitudinal adjustment of the locking slides.

Signed at Grand Rapids, Michigan, Sept.

CHARLES n. SARGENT. 

